naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Introduction, recorder question

Subject: Re: Introduction, recorder question
From: "klangstrand" klangstrand
Date: Fri May 3, 2013 1:41 pm ((PDT))
Hi!
I can recommend the Sony if you=C2=B4re on a budget. Clean and sufficient g=
ain, and actually remarkable for that pricerange. Doesn=C2=B4t have xlr tho=
ugh. Find some good electrets, like the frogloggers, and a parabolic reflec=
tor if you=C2=B4re into singling out specific species, and in my mind, you=
=C2=B4re good to go!
It=C2=B4ll give you ATLEAST 15 db more SNR than the zoom, and potentially m=
ore sensitivty, and that even before you add the reflector. If you want XLR=
s and decent preamps, the LS-100 is a good choice on a budget. Or so they s=
ay.
There are better and more expensive solutions out there, but this setup wil=
l get you a long way in my opinion!
I live in a very quiet place, and the Sony has been giving me cleaner recor=
dings with cheap electrets than a Mixpre-D with good condensers.
Plenty on info on recent posts here!
My two cents:-) Good luck!
-Anders


--- In  "jwmacleo" <> wrote=
:
>
> Hello folks,
>
> I'm new to the group. I'm a birder who has done some birdsong recording a=
s part of my graduate work. I'm pretty much done that work now, but would l=
ike to continue recording for fun. While recording for school, I was focuse=
d on one species (Hermit Thrush), and made recordings using a Marantz  PMD6=
70 and a Sennheiser Mic (probably ME66, but I'm not sure). I was pretty hap=
py with the quality of recordings we created with that setup. Certainly the=
y were sufficient for spectrogram-based analysis of various individuals' re=
pertoires, etc.
>
> I also previously had a Zoom H4 that I used to make some recordings. I fo=
und it was not very useful for creating recordings of birds that were worth=
 listening to. The spectrograms that could be created from the Zoom were ac=
tually not bad with some alteration, but the recordings were just far too q=
uiet. I have an AT ATR-6550 mic, as well, and found the same thing when usi=
ng this with the Zoom--the recordings were just far too quiet. So, I got ri=
d of the Zoom, and I'm looking for something else.
>
> I'm more interested in making recordings of individual birds than I am of=
 recording 'soundscapes', but don't mind if recordings of individuals are s=
omewhat noisy with the sounds of other birds.
>
> I don't have lots of money to spend on this at the moment, so realize tha=
t I'll likely have to buy a sub-optimal setup and try to get as close as po=
ssible to whatever I try to record. I was thinking about buying a Sony PCM-=
M10 and using the on-board mics or my ATR-6550 for a while until I can affo=
rd something better (once I finish school). Any thoughts about this? I've b=
een reading about the various recorders on this board, the avisoft page, an=
d elsewhere, and it seems the Sony I mentioned is one of the best in its pr=
ice rage. I had considered the Tascam DR-100mkII, because it has better inp=
uts and phantom powering. However, someone posted on here a while back that=
 the Tascam created very quiet recordings (quieter than the sony), and I do=
n't want to replace my Zoom with something that will be equally useless.
>
> Any input would be appreciated.
>








<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU